World Teachers' Day

Today is World Teachers’ Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness around the important role that teachers play all over the world. In recognition of this day, we took some time to reflect on the amazing teachers who helped motivate and inspire us as musicians; below are a few of our tributes.Have a music teacher tribute of your own to share? We would love to hear it. Share it onFacebookorTwitterwith #WorldTeachersDay and be sure to tag us to share with the Sheet Music Direct community!

By the time I started college, I had already taken 12 years of piano lessons, but one particular professor inspired me to go above and beyond what I had already mastered. Dr. Ferencz eventually influenced my decision to pursue music publishing as a career, while also performing, teaching, and transcribing piano on the side. It is professors like him that make such a difference for music students like me! – Becca

Ms. Lee began teaching me after I had taken a few years of beginning piano lessons. She nurtured and grew my love for playing the piano into my middle school years, introducing me to jazz and new age piano music, as well as composition. Ms. Lee’s positive energy, guidance and encouragement was priceless and I can’t thank her enough! – Chris

While I will always be grateful for my amazing band directors, it was my private trumpet instructor who really shaped my life as a musician. Dr. Pat challenged and inspired me in ways that just weren’t possible in a classroom setting. She exposed me to a wide range of trumpet music and opened me up to new ways to approach playing, ultimately encouraging me to pursue music as a career. – Dan

Although I had already gained formative experiences prior to college, I felt incredibly inspired under Tim’s mentorship. He gave me the push I needed to challenge myself with difficult pieces of music and the freedom to explore music that interested me. Although I am a software developer now, I feel that many of the practice and patience skills I learned in his studio have transferred and have made me a more well-rounded person! – Eddie

My private guitar instructor, Scott, really got me passionate about playing guitar. He opened my mind to genres of music I never would have known about otherwise. Even though I only play casually today, many of the lessons he taught me are forever ingrained in my head. Most of the songs I still play for fun were all taught to me by Scott. – Joe

I like to go to music class with Ms. Maria, because she plays songs I want to hear before I even select them. I feel happy learning piano with her. Ms. Maria is a great pianist and she can explain things that I don’t know in a very clear way. She also helps me to get focused. Ms. Maria makes learning to play piano fun because she is always cheerful, we can joke while rehearsing, and we choose songs that I want to play. I enjoy classical pieces, modern songs from bands like The Beatles, and music from my favorite films, such as The Imperial March from Star Wars. – Sebastian (on behalf of Daniela)